President Monthly Message - Chapter 130 Greater Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater Area

Month-Year	Monthly Message
01-25	We held our third annual Christmas luncheon at the Jacob Smith House on December 12th. Ernie got the group going with a Christmas song. As mentioned at the luncheon, we have a large percentage of our membership that have joined our group during this year. We would like to involve new members and increase attendance at Member Meetings and social activities. Ideally, we would like to see the attendance at next year’s luncheon double in size. One of our members, Ann, shared her heart story a few meetings ago. She has now finished a video of her story, that was posted on our Facebook Page . Please review her story and note what she found when her family visited her at the Hospital. As new members attend our group they may be down emotionally or lacking energy, all of us need to support the new members. Not only will our support encourage new members to return to our meetings, but it can make a world of difference in the new members’ lives. As Roy Ziegelstein, MD of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, says, “What we can say with certainty is that depression and heart disease often occur together. About one in five who have a heart attack are found to have depression soon after the heart attack. And it’s at least as prevalent in people who suffer heart failure. According to some studies, making an extra effort to re-engage and socialize with friends can help a person return to the person they were before a heart event. A person’s attitude seems to have a powerfully favorable effect on their ability to make behavior and lifestyle changes that are often necessary to reduce the risk of having future heart problems. Our socialization and sharing can have a powerful impact on other members. In Member Meetings, January-presentation by Kacilynn and Robin on the changes in their lives due to heart transplants. February-Breann, dietitian, will discuss Mediterranean-plant based diet. March-presentation by a panel of nurses on heart care. See you at these meetings in-person or on Zoom.
12-24	World of Support for participants is over now. Donations to the MHI fund raiser can still be made through the end of the year. As mentioned at the last Member Meeting, Ann Monaghan was our participant with the most miles this year. See write-up and pictures on website concerning Ann’s exercise routine. Her heart story she shared is also on the website. I also added the pharmacy medication handout and the pharmacist’s responses to questions asked at the meeting that were not answered and required follow-up. This coming month is our annual Holiday Luncheon. Join us for great food and a chance to socialize with other members. We still have available seating at the luncheon. Contact Bob Sherwood or myself if you want to attend. In January we will have a panel discussion by two “heart warriors” who have received the gift of life, a heart transplant. Kacilynn and Robin will talk about their heart transplant experiences. The February Meeting will be about Mediterranean eating and avoiding processed foods by Breana, a Dietitian at St. Peter Hospital.
11-24	“Over four decades of research has clearly demonstrated that social isolation and loneliness are both associated with adverse health outcomes,” Dr. Crystal Wiley Cené said in a news release. She is chair of the writing group for the scientific statement, published Thursday in the Journal of the American Heart Association. The report found social isolation and loneliness are most strongly linked to heart disease and stroke, with a 29% increased risk for heart attack and/or death from heart disease and a 32% increased risk for stroke. Published: August 4, 2022 The message would be to get out and socialize with others. Our regular member meetings offer you socialization with others, and each year our Chapter has two social events…August Picnic and December Luncheon. I encourage you to attend our meetings and the December Luncheon. See website for more information on Luncheon. Dr Jason Reese was the fourth doctor to present to our Chapter this year. Doctors and other professionals have busy schedules and as discussed before we usually modify our typical second Thursday of the month, 2 pm meeting to fit the professionals’ schedule and also the availability of the meeting room at the Church. Starting next year, we will try to schedule evening meetings during the longer daylight months, so members who have concerns about driving at night will have a safer drive. President’s Message (Continued) In November, we will have the St Peter Pharmacists present to our group at the regular meeting time of second Thursday at 2 pm. Please be aware that this will be different pharmacists, information, and format for the presentation. The pharmacists will present as a panel and encourage questions and discussions about the various heart medications. They will also explain how they might be helpful as a member of your healthcare team. Dr. Waggoner and Dr Reese mentioned the shortage of doctors and medical professionals for your care. The pharmacists may be able to help you with your medications. I encourage you to bring medication questions to the meeting.
10-24	Mended Hearts, Inc. will hold its annual fund-raising activity, World of Support. The event starts on World Heart Day, September 29th and runs through October 29th. You can register to participate in exercise or a donation. If you want to exercise with the Chapter Team, we will enroll as the Heart of Gold Team. Our Chapter has finished first in exercise in previous years. I will put an exercise conversion chart on our website if you want to join us and do exercises other than running or walking. We are in the process of planning member meetings for next year. St Peter Hospital dietitians have agreed to plan one of the speaking engagements (February). We are open to ideas from the membership. If you have an idea for a heart related speaker, I encourage you to contact the Board through our website Suggestion Box, located on the Contact Us Page. Once again Dr. Waggoner kept us enthralled for two hours in our last meeting on September 12th. We had a reasonable turnout, 20 in-person and 5 online Zoom (4 new members). We discussed many ideas on our cardiac health, diet, and other lifestyle changes we can do. We also discussed tips on wine, salt, weight loss, blood pressure, walking, and many other topics. On October 15th at 5:45 pm our member meeting, Dr. Jason M. Reese (Cardiologist) will be speaking about cardiac devices. Approximately, 3 million Americans have pacemakers and another 1 million have an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). Others have other devices, such as, left ventricular assist device (LVAD), right ventricular assist device (RVAD), biventricular assist device (BIVAD), and Watchman, insertable cardiac monitor (ICM). I did discover that only 18% of Americans with cardiovascular disease wear smart watches. where 29% of Americans without cardiovascular disease wear smart watches. Smart watches offer all basic watch features, and they also do things that smartphones cannot do. They track fitness and keep you connected to online social apps. Some smart watches integrate with smart scale and smart blood pressure cuff, so all health stats including hydration can be tracked in one place and create an entire health report. A smart watch can help track heart rate, afib, sleep, stress level, calories burned, and other activities. Would a smart watch help you? On November 14th at 2 pm our member meeting will have St Peter Pharmacy presenting on the role of pharmacist in your treatment and heart medications. Our annual Holiday Luncheon will be on December 12th. I’m looking forward to seeing members at upcoming meetings. Mended Hearts Program Speaker
09-24	I want to encourage members to get to the next two meetings at 5:45 pm, so we can have a short period of time before the speaker to have members tell their stories. I have told the speakers to be there at 6pm but felt we will have members at the meeting early to listen or tell their heart stories. As I visit heart patients at St. Peter Hospital, I often mention that there are at least two programs that have been proven to help patients after they leave the hospital. One program is Cardiac Rehab and the second is Mended Hearts. As one member recently stated, I wonder why people would join our group and then not attend the meetings. It is through the meetings that members will receive support, and gain education about their hearts. By the end of this year, four doctors will have joined us to talk about taking care of our hearts. If you have been waiting to attend our meeting, I encourage you to make a point of attending the next meeting (September 10). We will have Dr Waggoner head cardiologist for Providence join us for another question and answer session. Come prepared with your questions. Last year, Dr. Waggoner spoke with our group for approximately two hours and was still being asked questions as he was leaving. As mentioned at the August picnic, Mended Hearts, Inc. will be holding their major fund raising event again beginning on Heart Day, September 29, and running for a whole month. Our Chapter was the first place team a few years ago and set some great marks for exercise. The more members we have join us, the more miles we can walk and the more funds we can raise. Slow and steady wins the race. President’s Message (Continued) On Tuesday, September 10th, 5:45pm, Dr John Waggoner who will be answering questions about heart disease. On Tuesday October 15th, Dr. Jason Reece will be talking about heart devices, such as pacemakers, Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) and other devices.
08-24	I was thinking about how important our families and friends are to our well being as I was visiting with my sons and family in July. We get some of our identity, connectedness, encouragement, motivation, and support through our families. When visiting with patients at the hospital, I look for family members and if none are present, I often ask the patient about support from their family. Families can be great to help us through our anxieties and stress on medical issues. On a recent hospital visit, a patient was upset about what would happen to his wife while he was hospitalized. As we talked, he mentioned his son could stand in and provide support to his wife in his absence. His relief from this support from his son was readily apparent. Many partners find that cardiac disease can bring them closer together. Successfully adapting to living with heart disease requires being open and honest. Lifestyle changes need to be made with the family, not just with the cardiac patient. As individuals with heart disease, we need to involve our families in healthy eating, physical activity, and other traditionally individual interventions to help promote the health of our entire family. In a sense, our Mended Hearts Chapter is your family as well, so feel free to encourage and assist others or ask us for any assistance you may need. The next member meeting (picnic) will be on August 8th from 5 to 7pm at Tumwater Historical Park. On Tuesday, September 10th at 6pm, Dr. Waggoner, a cardiologist will have another Question & Answer session with our members. One of our members, Michele Scott, was recently awarded two awards from Mended Hearts National for the newsletter of the year and volunteer of the year for 2024 in the Western Region. Congratulations to Michele. See you at the PICNIC!
07-24	Mended Hearts, Inc. has several helpful online resources for members. This week an online Zoom Meeting occurred for Heart Failure Members. Members can also ask questions and receive feedback from other members on the Mended Hearts Open Forum. Later this summer our Chapter will start a post-procedure education for patients of the Providence Surgery Clinic. Clinic staff will share information about our Chapter as follow-up after heart procedures. Eventually, we will also encourage sharing information about the Chapter with pre-procedure patients as well, so they may get a chance to discuss upcoming procedures with members previously receiving the same procedure. We had a good attendance at our last chapter member meeting with Dr. Silverman. Dr. Silverman shared a wealth of information with us and answered questions for members. In light of his presentation about Diet, I’d like to survey our members to get feedback on diet for future planning of presentations and interactions with the Hospital. For future meetings, we have a plan without final confirmation for a sleep presentation in July. August is our picnic, and September will be a presentation by cardiologist, Dr. Waggoner. The picnic will be a potluck this year. Further information will be available by next month on what type of food to bring to the potluck.
06-24	When we are presented with a change in health, most of us revert to our normal set points of wellbeing after a period, and in many cases, just a short period of time. We are uncomfortable with change and don’t like uncertainty. Accepting the certainty of established behavior makes it difficult for us to make lifestyle changes, even though returning to usual behavior is often the very behavior that helped create our heart disease in the first place. Our Chapter Meetings help support and educate us in making lifestyle changes that can be difficult to make. Since the first of the year, we have had approximately fifty members join our Chapter. Three of the new members showed up at our last meeting. We expect that we will see more in the coming months. One of our Members is spearheading an effort to reach out to even more heart surgery patients through the Providence Cardiac Surgery office. Patients will be informed about Our Mended Hearts Chapter by clinic staff. This will create another way for our members to reach out and support more potential members through phone visitation. I’m excited about the upcoming meeting with Dr Silverman on June 13th at 2 pm. One of our most important healthy lifestyle habits is how we eat. This should be one of our better presentations. The doctor will be discussing healthy eating habits. He has a great reputation as a speaker and nutrition expert in our area. He is preparing for a talk with interns in our area this month. Please join us for his presentation that will be online via Zoom and in-person with the first part being a Power Point Presentation followed by a Question-and-Answer session. We have been fortunate to have at least four doctors sign up to present to our group this year. It really helps with encouraging professionals who present to our group if we get a strong turnout for member meetings.
05-24	From Mended Hearts, Inc. “We want to introduce you to Mended Hearts Europe, your new local hub of support! We are dedicated to fostering hope and enhancing the lives of people with cardiovascular disease, their families, and caregivers across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Mended Hearts Europe operates from Geneva-the capital of global health. Its’ mission is to build a resilient and caring community through ongoing peer-to-peer support, patient education, and advocacy efforts, which are tailored to meet the distinctive needs and interests of our members within their respective regions. There are 115,000 members in the organization, and thirty three countries involved with Mended Hearts International (MHI). Members, it’s official, you are now part of an international organization. Please remember to view your MHI Heartbeat Magazine online through the National Website or our local Website on the resources page. I think it is a good time for us to ask ourselves, how did I get here? It is important to review our lifestyle behaviors and look at the behavior that we can change to receive the greatest benefits for our heart disease. Heart disease risk and symptoms can be decreased by individuals instituting lifestyle changes. Our member meetings offer information to help us make health changes. President’s Message (Continued) For our May meeting, we have Josephine Munoz for our speaker. She is a trainer at the YMCA and will be showing us exercises that can help improve our lives. I am in contact with three doctors for speakers of future meetings. As always, your participation in meetings help to encourage speakers to join us. Last month’s speaker said “Teaching for your group is special for me, and is rewarding in and of itself.”
04-24	I’d like to make members aware of a new link on website under resources Providence Heart Institute. Also located on Facebook …Podcasts by under Heart Maters. Member video stories on Facebook (if you’d like to share your story let Michael know). Thank you to the following members for volunteering: Jeannie Evans along with Michele and Cheryl-will be helping call members about our meetings; Ann Monaghan and Carolyn Kelly visiting hospital patients; Julie Dean-inviting sister/doctor as a speaker and introducing her to Chapter. Merrit Reed (Volunteer Coordinator) and the hospital nursing staff have been great helping us to re-enter the Hospital with the Visitor Program. Note National Mended Hearts is changing Heartbeat® Magazine to only being available online. You can find the link under our website resources page or go directly to the National Website. It’s been a year since our CPR Training with Beverly Wright. She will be the speaker/trainer at our April 11th-2 pm Member Meeting. See newsletter, or website for more information.
03-24	The newsletter will have a new look with member information on the first page. Speaking of new, we have had over a dozen new members join our Chapter this month with more than a week to go. The next step is encouraging new members to participate in our Member Meetings each month. About 30 of our members attend Chapter Member Meetings occasionally. I’d like to see occasional members attend regularly. If you’ve been waiting for someone to say now is the time to attend meetings…Now is the Time! Check out our new member stories on the website. We have enjoyed about a month of visiting at St Peter Hospital. Three more visitors will join our Chapter at the end of February. We still need more visitors. I find it isn’t hard to have empathy for the Hospital patients (sometimes it’s like looking in the mirror). Visiting becomes an inspiration for patients and myself. It was ten years ago that I was a patient in a bed at the St Peter Hospital. The celebration for me is what I’ve done in the last ten years, not just reaching the milestone. I’d like to thank the Chapter members for your support in recent years. For upcoming Member Meetings, we have Dr. Dean speaking on Preventive Cardiac Care for March. Bev Wright will train us on CPR in April. May is still being planned. June will be a meeting with the Pharmacy Interns from St. Peter Hospital. Usually, meetings will be hybrid (in-person and on Zoom). The CPR training will be hands on, so it will be in person only. Make sure your caregiver attends the CPR Meeting also.
02-24	What are we doing new with the Chapter this year. Our next speaker at our Member Meeting will be Tammy Stamphli, MDiv, BCC, her topic will be the connection of Spirituality and Cardiac Care. Our faith and Mended Hearts, both offer us hope. I hope you will attend this meeting. As our saying goes, it’s great to be alive, and to help others. When I was a child, I remember a pastor, who attended basketball games with my dad and me. He had a heart attack and the doctor told him to sit as quietly as possible, even during the most exciting parts of the games. Gone are the days of sitting in rocking chairs on the front porch and watching life pass you by. It is important to live with your eyes open and make new lifestyle changes to enhance your life. Share the changes with family and friends. We will be restarting our Visitor Program at the hospital. We have plenty of new ideas to move forward with visiting. If all goes well, we would like to expand the visiting program to the Cardiology Clinic. Although it has taken a long time to get going, we are planning on starting a Mended Hearts Pillow Program at the hospital. See article by Michele on new Cardiac Clinic in our area. A new Facebook page has been added to our connection to the community. Hybrid Meetings are new also to encourage all members to have a chance to attend Member Meetings. If you are new to the Chapter, we appreciate your feedback and assistance to help the Chapter flourish. Here are some new technologies and medications that can prevent or reduce CVD from 2023.
01-24	I’d like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Before we know it, we’ll be starting a new year. I mentioned briefly at our luncheon that several Mended Hearts Chapters did not survive the pandemic. It is important that we strengthen our Chapter by encouraging more participation and adding new members. I am counting on you as a member to show up at Meetings and welcome new members to the group. Diane Caputo and others will be inviting new members through our Visitor Program starting in 2024, and we need your support to help the Chapter grow. If you can help us with visiting heart patients at the Hospital, notify Diane Caputo. You can also help by bringing neighbors or friends with heart disease to our meetings. A few years ago, we launched our first website and now we will start a Facebook page (link to Facebook is on the website homepage). This will give us an opportunity to have others in the community find out about us. Thank you, Kristi, for your regular newsletter articles and pointers. Check out our Facebook page or our Website to see which member is receiving a National Mended Hearts Award.